Assen / Le Mans. Two world championship events with the BMW M 1000 RR in one weekend – and lots of celebrations at BMW Motorrad Motorsport in a real “Super Weekend”. During the third round of the 2024 FIM Superbike World Championship (World SBK) in Assen (NED), Toprak Razgatlioglu (TUR) and the ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team celebrated a sensational victory in the second main race on Sunday after finishing second on Saturday. In the FIM World Endurance Championship, the BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team started the 2024 season with a second place at the 24 Heures Motos du Mans (FRA).
WorldSBK at Assen.
During the WorldSBK event in Assen, Toprak Razgatlioglu was on course to win the first main race on Saturday. In extremely changeable conditions, starting from third place, he was about to take the lead when the race was interrupted by a red flag, thus finishing on the second step of the podium. A difficult Superpole race on Sunday morning did not discourage him. Razgatlioglu finished ninth and had to start the second race of the afternoon in this position. However, " The Turk » charged through the pack and took the lead for the first time on lap eight. In the final laps, he definitively secured first place, giving him his third victory with the BMW M 1000 RR after the successes in Barcelona (ESP). After Assen, it occupies second place in the championship standings.
FIM EWC at Le Mans.
The famous 24 Heures Motos du Mans marked the opening round of the 2024 FIM EWC. The BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team, led by Team Manager Werner Daemen (BEL), started the new season strong with the #1000 BMW M 37 RR. The three titular pilots, Markus Reiterberger (GER), Ilya Mikhalchik (UKR) and Sylvain Guintoli (FRA), took the second step of the podium. The trio started from fifth place in this marathon at two hours clock time. Thanks to the impeccable performance of the drivers and the excellent work of the team in the pits, the #37 quickly climbed onto the podium and was already in second place on Saturday after a few hours of racing. The team maintained this position until the finish on Sunday afternoon.
Reactions after the race weekend.
Marc Bongers, director of BMW Motorrad Motorsport: “I am extremely satisfied, it was a superb weekend. Of course, I was only able to follow Le Mans partially from Assen, but I watched it until one in the morning on Saturday evening and from 6 in the morning on Sunday. It's great that the BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team got second place. We also had a bit of luck with problems in other teams, but that's also part of a 24-hour race. After finishing third last year and second this year, you can imagine the goal for next year. It was a great start to the 2024 FIM EWC.
Here in Assen it was my home race and a mega-event for me personally. The many fans, including the many Turkish fans, created a fantastic atmosphere. On Saturday we were disappointed not to win the first main race, as we were very close to it, but it showed that we had the pace to get there. The Superpole race was slightly disappointing; all four BMWs had tire problems, resulting in positions eight to eleven, but we caught up in the second main race. It was a great fight at the front, with seven or eight bikes a second apart, and Toprak and Mickey right in the middle. Finally, we celebrated another victory with Toprak and we are now in the leading group of the championship. Mickey's sixth place is also very good, although he was unfortunately demoted. We have seen that the bike performs well, and not only with Toprak, although it has a little margin. We take this good news with us.”
Toprak Razgatlioglu, ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team (SP: 3 / R01: 2 / SP Race: 9 / R02: 1): " I am very happy. We did a very good job this weekend, especially in the second race. It wasn't easy to get the win, but I pushed hard every lap. Everyone worked hard this weekend and we finally won in the second race. It's my first victory at Assen in the Superbike category, and also the first victory here for BMW, so I'm very happy. The fact that I started from 9th place wasn't really important, because if you're really fast it's not a problem. The only problem was that after the first corner Alex Lowes almost crashed and I closed the throttle. After that, I tried to overtake all the drivers little by little. I felt confident and had a very good pace, especially after ten laps. When the rain came, I closed the throttle because I didn't want to take any risks. I was content to follow Alvaro Bautista who is more experienced than me. Then I started pushing again. I wanted to win this weekend and I did it. »
Werner Daemen, team principal of the BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team: “I am very proud that we finished in second place. The three drivers did a remarkable job. Nobody crashed, we had some difficulties in the night when it was very cold, but all three riders coped with the conditions and I am very proud of them. They gave their all throughout the week, they worked well together and we had a very good atmosphere in the team. We showed that we are a strong team and I think this second place is just the start of a fantastic season. I am 100% sure that we can fight for victory at Spa, Suzuka and Le Castellet.«
Sylvain Guintoli, BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team (2nd place 24 Heures Motos): “It was a good weekend. In the end we finished second and we have to be happy with that. We learned a lot and it was my first experience in the BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team with Markus and Ilya. It was a good experience. It's a bit of a shame that we didn't win because we wanted to bring home the victory, but I'm sure that all the experience gained during this weekend and this race, which was quite difficult , will help us improve in the future. It's a good base for the rest of the season.«
Markus Reiterberger, BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team (2nd place 24 Heures Motos): “We are very satisfied with this second place. Of course we would have liked to win, but in such a long and difficult race, with so many events, accidents and mistakes, we did well. We had a good pace, and especially at night we were very fast even though it was really cold. It was a real challenge due to the cold and difficult conditions. Thanks to the team and my teammates who gave everything. I believe we showed that we could be candidates for the world championship. We also know where we need to make adjustments to improve further. Overall, it was a successful weekend with second place at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. »
Ilya Mikhalchik, BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team (2nd place Motorcycle Hours): “I am very happy with this result. The race was very difficult, especially during the night relays when it was almost zero degrees outside. It was a little cold to ride the bike and the conditions were tricky, but despite this our bike performed very well, the tires worked well and everything was fine. We were fighting for the podium and we finally got second place, which makes us happy. Thanks to the whole team who worked all night and especially to my teammates who were very fast and did their best in all the relays, whatever the conditions. »
